General News - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Contract Signings Recede Slightly but Remain Strong

Pending home sales dipped slightly last month but continue to remain elevated compared to a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 1.1% in October but are up 20.2% year over year.“Pending home transactions saw a small dropoff from the prior month but still easily outperformed last year’s numbers for October,” s

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Record Number of Homeowners Stand to Lower Mortgage Payments

As mortgage rates dip to record lows, many homeowners are in a position to save hundreds of dollars a month.A record number of homeowners are eligible to refinance into a lower mortgage rate, saving an average of $309 per month, according to new research from Black Knight, a mortgage technology and data provider. About 19.4 million homeowners are good candidates to refinance, the report notes.Freddie Mac reported that for the week ending Nov. 25

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The Top Luxury Zip Codes in 2020

As home sale prices rise across the country amid the pandemic, wealthy buyers are seeking larger homes with more land in scenic destinations as remote work continues for their jobs and for their children in school. The pricing of those homes has also resisted the slowdown in other segments of the economy.“Luxury buyers are more resilient to economic conditions like the ones we’re having now,” Eliza Theiss, a senior writer at PropertyShark,

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Wishing you Health and Strength this Thanksgiving

We feel blessed to have your business and hope you all are keeping safe this Thanksgiving.We've recently upgraded our website and have a new state-of-the-art system for you to experience. So when you have the want for real estate services, we'll be here ready to give a new and improved iPro.

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What Real Estate has to be Grateful for in 2020

No doubt, 2020 has been a uniquely challenging year. With unemployment still above pre-pandemic levels, the country coming to terms with longstanding racial inequities, Americans worrying about natural disasters and coming off a contentious national election, and the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, people are searching for reasons to feel gratitude this Thanksgiving.The housing market has emerged as an

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15 Cities with the Lowest Costs of Living

With nearly half of Americans planning a move to reduce living expenses, according to a new study, many will be targeting cheaper towns. Move.org researched rent prices, utility costs, gas prices, and internet rates in the 75 largest U.S. cities to find the most affordable areas in the country. They identified the following 15 cities as having the lowest cost of living, factoring in average utilities, internet, monthly gas, rent for a one-be

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FHFA Increases Conforming Loan Limits for 2021

Due to rising home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that it would raise loan limits for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.In most of the country, the 2021 maximum conforming loan limit for single-family properties will be $548,250. That marks a 7.4% increase from last year’s limit of $510,400. The FHFA’s loan limits define the maximum amount that Fannie and Freddie can finance for a one-unit single-fam

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10 Mortgage Lenders with the Highest Volume

More Americans were seeking a mortgage to purchase a home in the third quarter. Lenders issued about 1.05 million purchase loans in the third quarter, up 28% from the second quarter and 25% from a year ago, according to real estate data firm ATTOM Data Solutions. That represents the highest level since the third quarter of 2006.The metros seeing the largest quarterly increases in purchase mortgage originations in the third quarter were:Springfiel

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10 Opportunity Zones that Saw Home Prices Nearly Double

Property owners in the majority of opportunity zones saw home prices climb significantly over the past year, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Seventy-four percent of qualified opportunity zones saw median home prices rise from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020. Further, median home prices climbed by more than 10% in more than half of the 1,737 designated zones analyzed by ATTOM Data Solutions.The federal o

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Where to Find the Top New-Home Markets

More buyers are being drawn to new-home construction during the pandemic. Construction of single-family homes last month soared to the highest level since the spring of 2007. New-home construction is up 8.6% from a year ago, the Commerce Department reported last week.The top performing new-home markets in October were Raleigh. N.C.; Denver; and Jacksonville, Fla., according to Zonda’s New Home Pending Sales Index, which reflects the number of n

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